Running for Cpl. John Peck — in a gas mask

Jeremy Soles has run four half-marathons and four 10Ks in a gas mask to raise awareness of wounded troops.

Jeremy Soles will run the Marine Corps Marathon this Sunday in a gas mask. Why? Because it’s hard, but not as hard as the life of a wounded Marine.

“The mask is an icon,” said Soles, who got out of the Corps in 2004 and has run several races wearing a gas mask as part of Team X-T.R.EM.E., which is raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“The time I spend in a mask is short, difficult and requires mental and physical fortitude,” he said, pointing out that doing it is not unlike what so many wounded guys go through, “only for them it’s for the rest of their lives.”

He’s dedicating his race to young Cpl. John Peck, 24, of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, who was wounded in Afghanistan on May 23. As a result of that IED attack, he now has no legs or forearms.

Peck has undergone countless surgeries and has many more to come. He’s at Mologne House at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

To donate money to the Wounded Warrior Project and learn more about Team X-T.R.E.M.E, go to www.teamxtremerunning.org

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